Ó, Gyönyörű Szép — Let's Play Together!

I would like to invite you to make some Christmas ukulele music together. Unfortunately it can only happen in the virtual space, but I hope this shared "project" will still bring us a lot of joy. The final result would be a video in which everyone can be seen and heard: a ukulele choir playing, accompanying and singing the Hungarian Christmas song Ó, gyönyörű szép titokzatos éj.

If you would like to take part in the performance, you need to know the following chords:

With a metronome set to 60, record these chords using the following rhythm: four quarter notes, all downstrokes:

| [C] [C] [C] [F] | [C] [F] [C] [rest] |

| [C] [C] [C] [F] | [C] [F] [C] [rest] |

| [Am] [Dm] [G] [Dm] | [Am] [Dm] [G] [Dm] |

| [Am] [G] [C] [C] |

The first half of the song is very simple because it consists of alternating C major and F major. The thing to watch is that F major comes on the fourth beat of the first measure and the second beat of the second measure, rather than on the first beat. In the second half of the song the chord changes are faster, with a different chord on every quarter note. On the other hand, these are not difficult chords, and we are playing slowly, so there is enough time for each change.

We will play two rounds in the final performance, so everything above needs to be played twice. In the first round we simply play quarter-note downstrokes, while in the second round you may use any accompaniment you like. I explain and demonstrate all of this in detail in the following video:

And for ukulele players who would also like to sing, here are the lyrics with chords for the second round:

[C]Ó, [C]gyönyö[C]rű [F]szép, [C]titok[F]zatos [C]éj!
[C]Ég [C]szemű [C]gyer[F]mek, [C]csöpp ró[F]zsale[C]vél.
[Am]Kisded[Dm]ként az [G]édes [Dm]Úr
[Am]Jászo[Dm]lában [G]megsi[Dm]mul
[Am]Szent Ka[G]rácsony [C]éj[C]jel!

Finally, let me summarize the most important points about recording and submitting your video. The "official" part is that by sending me a video, you agree that I may edit and publish your recording without any time limit. The other details are as follows:

• You need to play TWO rounds (that is, 2 × 7 measures). The first should be the basic version accompanied by quarter-note strums — and there should be no singing in this first round. The second round can be anything you like: you may repeat the first version, use arpeggios, add singing, or even submit vocals only (although if you can, please strum as well). Between the two rounds there isnopause: the second seven measures begin immediately after the first seven.
• Please record the video from the front, with both your face and your ukulele visible while you play. This matters for editing: it would not look good if one person showed only their face, another only the instrument, and so on.
• If possible, eliminate background noise and record in a well-lit place.
• Do not stop the recording immediately at the end of the second round. Please wait about five seconds before stopping it (or before beginning your introduction — see below).

Please do not send the recording through Facebook because it significantly reduces video quality. I would like the original file, shared for example through Google Drive, WeTransfer, Mammutmail, Toldacuccot or a similar service, with info@ukulele.hu as the recipient. If a Gmail address is required for sharing, you can send material to ukuleleblog@gmail.com. If you have any questions before recording or about sending the file, contact me at the same address or leave a comment below the post.

Deadline: Saturday, December 12, 2020, 10:00 p.m. That is the deadline for your recordings. After that comes several hours of editing, although the actual time will of course depend on how many videos arrive — and I hope there will be as many as possible. UPDATE (December 10, 2020): many thanks for all the recordings received so far. A few of you told me you would really appreciate another day or two and definitely wanted to submit your videos, so I have extended the deadline by a few days.

Finally, I have one personal request: either by email or in a few words at the end of your video, please introduce yourself and tell me how long you have been playing. I would be happy to get to know at least this much about those of you who will appear in the finished video. Naturally, the introductions themselves will not be included in the edited production. Happy practicing and good luck! I look forward to your videos. Thank you .